Simply Encouragement is an extension of my passion to serve. My energy taps into the 'What-If-Up' vs. the As-Is. I Encourage Others to breakthrough their self-imposed roadblocks to success. How? By Sharing the knowledge that: All of us are Full of Potential with Limitless Possibilities!

Encouragement Radio

Friday, October 25, 2013

Much has been
said about Obamacare, aka the Affordable
Care Act of 2010. One prominent U.S. senator has referred to the law as a train-wreck. Referencing thefreedictionary.com,
a train wreck is defined as:

Atrain wreck ortrain crash is
a type ofdisasterinvolving one
or moretrains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication,
as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident,
such as when atrainwheel jumps off atrackin aderailment; or when a boiler explosionoccurs.

The answers beg the
question: Is Obamacare a Train Wreck?

As a point of contention,
the Republican-led House of Representative (2013) took a political position of challenging
the funding of President Obama’s signature health care initiative as a preamble
to the legislative roll call vote to pass a federal government funding and/or
debt ceiling limit bill. As widely reported, the president responded
with a “no negotiation” response.

The Socialization of Medical Managed Care

For starters, the beginning of federal government involvement
into socialized medical care entitlement (as we know it) found its way into the
American way of life with the FDR Presidency. President Roosevelt issued in a New Deal …one of an economic social
safety net with the advancing of the Social Security Administration and social
benefits for retirees and disabled citizens. As time went on, President LBJ
introduced a law to provide economic help with medical expenses for U.S.
citizenry. That entitlement, known as Medicare, was
signed into law in 1965.

President G.W. Bush expanded Medicare
in 2003 with the signing of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) which is
commonly known as the Part D prescription drug plan. Once thought to be an
entitlement of enormous public disdain and a potential economic burden, the
Medicare Part D entitlement is now seen as a benefit that is a managed care
success…popular with both Democrats and Republicans alike.

MMA was believed to
have been a potential disaster during its conception and infancy – a train
wreck waiting to happen – yet this was not the case. The roll out began in
earnest in 2006; the benefit is a resounding success in 2013…roughly 10 years
post-legislation.

Managed Care 101

Physicians and hospital operate under partnerships with private
insurance companies, state government, and the federal government. Other than
indigent persons (not verified ability to pay for service), the medical
community depends on reimbursement for service. The infinitesimal percentage of
wealthy persons that engage in private fee for service cannot sustain the
medical profession’s need for a billable fee schedule. Insurance companies
along with [State] Medicaid and [Federal] Medicare reimbursements are the ways
that managed care operates in this country.

According
to Medicare.gov,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the federal agency that runs the Medicare
Program and monitors Medicaid programs
offered by each state. In 2011, Medicare covered 48.7 million people. Total
expenditures in 2011 were $549.1 billion. This money comes from the Medicare
Trust Funds.

Medicare
is a very popular entitlement for
eligible individuals. Medicare is a political sacred cow. Even staunch
conservative fiscal hawks view Medicare entitlement as a property right. Yet
how odd is it that these same said persons see Obamacare as a Train-Wreck. Can Obamacare one day become the golden child entitlement of both left and right
wing politics?

As a licensed Life
and Health Insurance agent with a health care (AHIP) certification, I hear fear
and misplaced outrage from Medicare-entitled member enrollees voicing
unsupported opinions regarding Obamacare and Medicare. Top 5 things to know
about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if you have Medicare are that (1) your
Medicare coverage is protected, (2) you
get more preventive services, for less, (3) you can save money on brand-name
drugs, (4) your doctor gets more support, and (5) the ACA ensures the
protection of Medicare for years to come. [Source: Medicare.gov; http://medicare.gov/about-us/affordable-care-act/affordable-care-act.html]

The Repealing of Obamacare

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives along
with a Dem-Senate rammed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the chambers up
to the White House in year 2010. Republicans were not supportive for numerous
reasons. Moreover, whatever the case, Republicans were perhaps naturally
resentful of the politics of the Law’s passage. Regaining the House shortly
thereafter, Republicans have introduced, voted, and challenged ACA (aka Obamacare) 40 times over a three year period. The negative economic ramifications
of the Law are mired in fact, fiction, opinion, and bias.

ACA arguments pros and con include:

Obamacare is a job killer.

Obamacare is the enemy of small business (50 employees or less).

Obamacare is unfair to those that are self-employed, retiree/pensioners, and the middle
class.

Obamacare is grossly unpopular with the majority of constituents, both Republicans as
well as Democrats.

Obamacare is a Bad Law!

Obamacare is a Train Wreck.

Obamacare is disliked because Barack Obama is disliked.

Rather than debate the facts and/or perceptions, it is
widely known that the Public hears what they believe…they believe what they
hear. Researching the economics and the meritocracy of ACA would not sway those
opinions to a noticeable degree. The one component of the argument is that the
nation does have concerns about ACA’s affect upon job growth. Will Obamacare indeed become the Train Wreck of job creation and stability?

The truth of the matter is that small
businesses are exempt from ACA. Large businesses (over 50 employees) will
need to implement ACA by year 2015. The Obama administration granted a one year
extension to the mandate for large business due to the concerted consensus of
the business community. For many, employer-sponsored health insurance is the
only path to accessing the health care system. The factors of employment
status, selective risk, and/or affordability are the key roadblocks to citizens
being insured or insurable.

The ACA (aka Obamacare) has several moving parts. Many of
us are most familiar with the disappointing rollout of the Healthcare.gov website. Politicians, the
media, as well as the president have expressed disapproval and concern with the
inability of the site to handle the traffic demands of persons wanting to
access the information.

"Nobody's madder than me about the website not
working as well as it should, which means it's going to get fixed," Obama
said during an appearance at the White House Rose Garden. But he didn't specify
exactly what went wrong or who was to blame for the problems, whichinclude long waits to log ontothe federally administered
website and maddeningly long wait times once online. There's "no excuse
for the problems," Obama said.

Accessing the site tonight (10-25-13), I had no problems
gaining access. Since I currently have insurance, I wanted to know about how
Obamacare would affect my coverage. The answers on the site were
positively surprising. As with many Americans, I too am concerned with
privacy and protection. In my mind, having the government’s hand in my medical
care is already a past occurrence. Managed care, being what it is, is already
run by insurance companies along with state and federal agencies. The cool
thing is that eligible persons with preexisting conditions
and protections for women are inclusive components of ACA.

Conclusion

Republicans hate Obamacare, yet haven’t presented an
alternative solution to remedy the plight of America’s uninsured.
Representative (Rep-CA) Darrell Issa floated the idea that health care access
for the masses be covered under the Federal Employee Health Care system as an
alternative to Obamacare. Hmm…pensions plan that is an employer-sponsored
program for +1 million persons become a national health care default program
for 40 million persons? Uh, no…don’t think so.

ACA is the law of the land. For now, eligible persons
must enroll into the ACA program via telephone call center operators.
Eventually, the website will be fixed (see Examiner.com
article 10-25-13). Millions of persons will get in and enroll. States such
as California, Kentucky, and Iowa are already seeing early success on their
state-sponsored health exchange websites and programs. The shame is that many
state opted to stand aside and have the federal government set up the health exchange.
Were they hoping that the effort would fail?

States can do a better job with providing services for
its’ citizenry. Managed care is health insurance; insurance regulation and
policy is under the jurisdiction of the states rather than the federal
government. The health care law would be best served by having federal funding
with state-by-state execution and administration. No--Obamacare is Not a Train
Wreck. The apathy and intentional sabotage by opposing political factions that
are more concerned with their self-serving agenda rather than providing for the
wellbeing of its’ citizenry is the Real Train Wreck!

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How Do I Serve Others?

Encouraging People is an extension of My Passion to serve others. I identify with the "Longing-for-More" as felt by others. My energy taps into the 'What-If-Up vs. the As-Is.' I Encourage Others to breakthrough their Self-Imposed Roadblocks to success. How? By Sharing the knowledge that We All are Full of Potential and Limitless Possibilities.